Hi all. We will be in St Kitt's and Antigua on one day stops in November off a cruise ship. We don't really like the 'beach days' shore excursions with hundreds of others but would rather day sail and snorkel or find a quiet beach or a beach within walking distance of a fun bar/restaurant.
Are there any reliable options?
Thanks!

No beaches within walking distance of the cruise ship dock in St. Kitts. The nearest beach with "facilities" (beach bars, restaurants, chair/umbrella rentals and water sports) is Frigate Bay (10 minutes by taxi). Other beaches with facilities are South Friars (15 minutes by taxi) and Cockleshell (25 to 30 minutes by taxi). No other beaches around the island have "facilities". All 3 mentioned will have their fair share of your fellow cruise ship passengers.

Off beach snorkeling on St. Kitts leaves a lot to be desired. Best snorkeling is a Shitten Bay which is accessible only by boat. Excursions leave from the Marina adjacent to the cruise ship dock. You can book excursions and/or day sails at the various kiosks in the shopping complex just outside the cruise ship dock.

Can't give you specifics about Antigua other than to tell you you'll find plenty of tour operators/vendors hawking their excursions near the cruise ship dock. Lots of beaches around the island to choose, many have beach bars, but like St. Kitts, off beach snorkeling is not plentiful. You need to book a boat excursion to reach the better sites.

Another idea is to see the really interesting places on those two islands- Brimstone Hill on St Kitts and Nelson's Dockyard on Antigua. Those two islands have especially interesting marine history. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Are there ways of getting to and from quiet beaches for just relaxing and swimming or are those the ones that Fletch mentioned? And would that require hiring a tour or taxi? Always worry we wouldn't be picked up in time to get back to the boat!

You'll need a taxi to take you to a "quiet beach" but there are only a couple of them and they won't have any beach bars or restaurants nearby. You are likely to be the only people visiting these beaches on any given day - they re not among the "better" beaches on the island.

North Friars Bay (not to be confused with South Friars I mentioned in my earlier response) won't have anybody on it but it's on the Atlantic side with very rough waves and strong currents - not really suitable for swimming.

Majors Bay and Turtle Beach are at the southern tip of the island about a (30 minute ride by taxi from the cruise ship dock. They are OK swimming beaches but that's about it. From Turtle Beach (which is very small) you can walk about 3/4 mile over to Cockleshell where you'll find several beach bars and a restaurant.

Whitehouse Bay is 3/4's way down the southern peninsula, 20 minutes or so ride from the cruise ship dock. Salt Plague Bar is located there but it is only open in the evenings. You'll be likely to find a few "sailboaters" using this beach.

There are a few beaches at the north end of the island but they are quite far away (45 to 50 minutes by taxi) from the cruise ship dock and, quite frankly, not the best on the island. THERE ARE NO FACILITIES nearby.

You WILL NOT fiind any transportation at any of the beaches mentioned above so if you plan to visit any of these make sure you bring your own shade (they can be very sunny), plenty of water, food if you want to have something to eat and YOU MUST make prior arrangements for a taxi driver to pick you up at a pre-determined time for your ride back to your ship.

Honesty, for day tripping your best bet is to go to Frigate Bay, South Friars or Cockleshell if you want to spend some time at the beach and have access to food, drink and easy transportation.